


This Left Turned Right

by salakavala



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Date, Loki and Thor Are Not Related, M/M, Romance, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 05:52:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18337496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/salakavala/pseuds/salakavala
Summary: Three weeks after they first met, Thor asks Loki on a date.A sequel toYour Other Left.





	This Left Turned Right

**Author's Note:**

> Once upon a time I promised a little sequel to [Your Other Left](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14913692). 10 months later, it’s here. Hope you enjoy. :)

 

 

Loki scowled at his reflection in the mirror. Granted, his current dilemma was hardly his mirror-self’s fault, and, objectively, neither could a reflection be held responsible for the image it merely projected. Unfortunately for Loki’s reflection, however, Loki rarely bothered with _objectively_ , and so he had no qualms whatsoever about blaming his mirror-self for both appearing unsightly _and_ for getting Loki into a situation where he needed to seem anything but.

The situation in question being a date. Namely, a date with Thor. A first date with Thor, on that very same evening, if one had an absolute need to be pedantic.

Or it _would_ have been a date, were Loki going. Which he wasn’t, because in hindsight it was clear that not deleting Thor’s text before even reading it had been a mistake, and actually accepting Thor’s dinner invitation the peak of idiocy.

It was three weeks since he had last (and first) talked with Thor. Back then Thor truly had made the three-hour car ride to get Loki home, as he had promised, and at the end of the day they had exchanged phone numbers too. For this specific purpose, one might add – to agree on dinner once Thor’s transfer to the city was confirmed and Thor would have to come to sign the papers.

“This is absurd,” Loki told his reflection, who, judging by his face, seemed to wholeheartedly agree.

It _was_ absurd. Loki had already spent half a night on Thor’s sofa curled on top of Thor himself, so turning into a nervous wreck over simple dinner with the man was plain ridiculous. Thor had to like Loki. He had to, or he wouldn’t have had asked Loki out at all. So why was Loki sitting on pins and needles about the whole thing? Thor liked him, and Loki obviously liked Thor, and there was a decent chance for something good to come out of it, like maybe even an actual relationship for the first time in Loki’s life, unless he fucked it all up like he always did, of course, so _what_ was he afra-?

Ah. That.

Loki turned back to his wardrobe. The crimson shirt he was wearing was ridiculous. Loki had glimpsed a lot of red at Thor’s place, so Thor must like the colour, but it always emphasised Loki’s blush so that he looked pink like a pig all over, and he didn’t want to remind Thor of pigs on their first date. Maybe he should just wear black and be done with it… but he was already wearing his fitting black jeans, and he didn’t want to dress for their dinner like he had to his father’s funeral.

“Oh, sod it.”

Loki yanked the buttons open and tossed the red shirt on the bottom of his wardrobe, pulling out a green one instead. It was a trusted garment, one that Loki felt good in, and it brought out his eyes quite nicely. If the whole thing went south and sideways, at least Loki would look decent in Thor’s memory.

He rolled the sleeves just beneath his elbows and, after a moment of deliberation, tied his hair in a loose bun. Elegantly messy. Showing off his neck a bit couldn’t hurt, either.

He crossed his arms and faced his reflection defiantly. He looked good. Then again, it wasn’t his looks that had ever posed a problem, so it was surprisingly cold a consolation. But when a million things could go wrong, of which not least Loki himself, he would take what he could. At least he had managed to get ready before the appointed time.

He glanced at the clock: eight minutes to seven. It would probably be rude to call the date off now.

Loki pressed his palm to his stomach. How he would be able to eat anything when his belly was full of butterflies he had no idea. How had he managed it before? He couldn’t remember; he hadn’t had butterflies for ages.

Seven minutes to seven. Way too much time to sit turning his thumbs and wondering if _Thor_ had cancelled the dinner, after all.

Oh. What if he had.

Loki snatched his phone and immediately almost dropped it – there was an unread text, arrived ten minutes earlier, how hadn’t Loki heard the ping? Fuck, what if Thor had actually cancelled? Why else would he text Loki now, so close to the time he was supposed to arrive? Damn it, Loki shouldn’t have had thought of the possibility! Now his fretting had made it true. He could see the preview of the text at the top corner of his screen, taunting him with a cruel, unfinished _Hi, I’m sorry, but_ _s_ _…_

Loki’s thumb hovered over the screen, undecided. He could cut short the charade and make it as quick and painless as possible. Or he could pretend that he hadn’t noticed the whole stupid text, like he should have done with Thor’s first message in the first place. That way he would have six more minutes to imagine that he was going to see Thor again, before he’d be forced to acknowledge that Thor wasn’t coming…

“Get a grip, you idiot,” he muttered at himself and swiped at the screen.

_Hi, I’m sorry, but seems I’m already at your building. I’ll ring the bell at 19.00 sharp, but if you’re ready before that, you don’t have to wait. :)_

_Oh_.

The butterflies in Loki’s belly suddenly turned less sickening and a whole lot more excited. He looked at the time: five minutes.

He smirked. He could easily wait that much _now_ , if Thor was already here. Like Loki was going to pass up the chance to have Thor come and get him from the door.

Which Thor did, punctual, but clearly not wanting to appear overeager: he rang Loki’s doorbell one minute past seven, as agreed. Loki slowly counted from five to zero before answering, to avoid looking like he had been waiting at the door, which he had.

“Hello,” Thor said, and smiled.

“Hi,” Loki breathed out.

That was it – Thor was scientific proof of the egregious inaccuracy of human memory. Loki had remembered that Thor was rather handsome, but his treacherous memory had robbed him of how much so, exactly. Besides, apparently it was one thing to meet Thor by chance on a dusty roadside, and _quite_ another to have him standing at Loki’s door with the specific purpose of taking him out. Loki hadn’t factored in that peculiar genial energy that Thor seemed to radiate, and now it was tinged with a particular intent in his demeanour that sent the butterflies in Loki’s belly fluttering wildly. Indeed, with that burgundy high-collared wool coat that hugged Thor’s arms and broadened his shoulders, Thor looked like a man on a mission, and there would be no taking prisoners.

Thor’s eyes twinkled when Loki met them, and Loki had to make a decisive step backwards, lest he tumble into that solid chest and abandon their dinner plans altogether. For better or worse – Loki honestly wasn’t sure which – he still had his dignity.

“Sorry I got here early,” Thor said, playfully apologetic. “You know how the traffic is.”

Loki couldn’t help a smile. “Oh, the worst.”

Thor made as if to touch Loki’s face, but at the last moment he not entirely smoothly withdrew his hand to gesture vaguely at Loki’s head instead. “I like the hair,” he said, sweetly bashful. “You look great.”

Loki felt his cheeks heat in satisfaction and silently congratulated himself for having had enough foresight to forego the red shirt.

“Thank you. So do you.” He grabbed his keys. “Shall we go?”

 

* * *

 

The cold October wind seemed to find every gap and opening in Loki’s clothing as they walked back to his apartment. There had been no free parking slots near Loki’s place when Thor had driven them back from the restaurant, and Thor had insisted on walking Loki to his doorstep. He was old school like that, Thor had said with that endearing boyish grin of his; he had asked Loki out, and he would see Loki home, too.

Loki, personally, didn’t mind. He liked feeling a little special, for one, and second, in spite of his initial worries, the date had gone swimmingly. He was in no hurry to part from Thor at all.

Thor had taken him to a restaurant Loki had never been to before, but had passed several times. It wasn’t really out of Loki’s pay range, but neither was it in it, exactly. Loki had never intended to go there without either a reason to celebrate, or a date who would pay for it. As it was, Loki’s occasional past dates had rarely taken him anywhere particularly fancy, and he certainly hadn’t had a cause to celebrate for a good while.

Now, though… Loki’s eyes once again slipped to Thor walking by his side, the back of his hand occasionally brushing against Loki’s.

Now Loki just might have both.

 

* * *

 

As the ancient unwritten first-date rule dictated, they stopped at the front of Loki’s building.

Usually, this was an unambiguous moment for Loki. Either he had liked the guy enough to call him in for a round, or he had felt shitty enough to do so; in no other case had his dates got so far as to his doorstep.

But with Thor, it felt different. Thor hadn’t even alluded to any after-dinner activities. He had kept up a conversation like he had truly wanted to get to know Loki better, and, just like last time, Loki had fallen into it easily, genuinely enjoying himself. Thor hadn’t even flirted much, not outright. Instead, he had played the perfect gentleman without making a fuss of it, and, in spite of never mentioning the word ‘date’, the way he had been looking at Loki throughout the entire evening had made Loki feel that it certainly was one.

Loki found that same gaze trained on himself now, when he finally could no longer believably pretend to be fussing over his gloves. Thor was regarding him with an intriguing smile, thumbs hooked in the pockets of his jeans, and Loki would be lying if he claimed it had no effect on the stability of his knees.

“So,” Thor said, playing the part like he was following the script of some silly rom-com. “I had a good time tonight.”

Loki mirrored his smile, anticipation tickling on the inside of his ribcage pleasantly. “I did too.”

Thor tilted his head, eyes crinkling. “Well then. May I kiss you goodnight?”

Loki’s heart leapt into his throat before promptly remembering its rightful place. It was growing difficult to control his quickening breaths, but even so, Loki couldn’t help flashing a playful little smirk at Thor. “You may.”

But instead of kissing him right away, Thor brought his hand to Loki’s temple and brushed a few stray strands behind his ear. His gaze was almost unbearably tender, his smile so warm that it disarmed Loki of any last remaining shields and concealed weapons he might have carried. Air caught in his throat at the simple intimacy of Thor’s touch and released in a shuddering exhale when Thor finally cupped Loki’s face in large palms and brought their lips together.

It was a slow kiss, tender, and when it ended, Thor’s touch lingered on Loki’s cheek, on the side of his neck where Thor’s hand had slipped. His lips tingled. His entire body tingled, especially where Thor was still touching him, the warmth of his skin a stark contrast to the biting wind.

Thor smiled, tracing his thumb along Loki’s jawline. “I’d like to do this again.”

The rumble of his voice resonated deep within Loki’s ribcage. “Kiss?” he half teased, because he, for one, certainly wanted to.

Thor laughed. “That, too. But I mostly meant seeing you again.”

Loki hummed and splayed his fingers over the deep burgundy of Thor’s coat, marvelling at the sheer width of his chest. He already knew it to be accommodating. Maybe it could fit a whole Loki in there, too.

He lifted his gaze to Thor’s. “I’d like that, too.”

He let his hand drop and took a step towards the door, delighting in the way Thor’s eyes followed him. “Would you like to come inside?” A cheeky little smile pulled at his lips. “I’ve bunked on your sofa already. Now you can bunk on mine.”

Thor quirked his brow. “Actually, _I_ bunked on my sofa. You had my bed in the end, if memory serves.”

“Mm… In that case, then, I believe it’s only fair that you have mine.”

“Does that mean you’ll take the sofa?” Thor teased, and Loki laughed.

“In my own home? Not a chance.”

Thor stepped back into his space, but, instead of kissing him like Loki had expected, he only curled his fingers around Loki’s own and squeezed them lightly.

“With those conditions… I’d love to.”

 

*

 


End file.
